The Boston Red Sox sold out Fenway Park last night against the Oakland A’s, their MLB record 723rd straight sellout, but claiming that requires a rather liberal definition of “sellout.” The Red Sox don’t need to sell all their tickets.

In a sequence of events that raised questions about the authenticity of the prized streak, the Sox stopped selling tickets for the game first at the ticket office on Yawkey Way when the game began, then at Gate E an hour later, and finally at Gate A deep into the game, with a sales clerk telling a Globe correspondent at each closing that tickets remained available.

The Red Sox failed to sell around 300 tickets for the game, but by massaging the numbers claimed an attendance of 37,819. They counted standing room tickets, which brought them to 61 under capacity. They then counted hundreds of free tickets they distributed. The Red Sox did not sell out paid attendance in any of the three A’s games.

This may cheapen the accomplishment, though don’t expect this to diminish the back-slapping and own-horn tooting when the Red Sox break the Portland Trailblazers’ record of 814 games next season.